


I Just Wanna Be Yours

by jacobperalta



Category: Riverdale (TV Show)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Homophobia, M/M, Toni and archie are best friends!!, archiereggie, bughead stans do not interract, choni, everyone in riverdale is bi, its gay, slowburn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 14:48:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14595345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacobperalta/pseuds/jacobperalta
Summary: She continued talking but Toni was only seeing red. This high pristine white girl was everything that Toni hated about the Northside and she wasn’t about to let her talk to them that way.“Why don’t you come over here and say that to my face?” She threatened.“Happily, queen of the buskers.” Cheryl answered automatically.A boy stepped in between them and instantly she recognized his voice. She broke eye contact with the ginger and looked up, to her surprised she saw Archie, the guy from the bar, standing next to her.ORToni Topaz is transferring to a new school and she already hates everyone there, well... almost everyone





	I Just Wanna Be Yours

The only thing Toni Topaz knew was that this whole thing was bullshit.

Why did their school have to close and why would they have to go to the another school full of rich assholes? She hated them and the way they walked like they owned Riverdale and thought the Southsiders were just a bunch of dumb criminals with no future.

The Serpent was furiously cleaning the bar of the Whyte Wyrm, thinking of what she was going to have to endure the next day at Riverdale High, when a new customer opened the door.

Toni looked at her watch,   
“We’re closing in ten minutes so you better make it fast.”

The guy didn’t answer, just sat down and looked at the bottles of liquor behind her and sighed. After a moment of silence, he murmured.

“What do you take when you want to forget everything but hopefully not wake up with a killing hangover tomorrow?”

The bartender chuckled, “I don’t think anything like that exists but I’ll see what I can do.”

The guy looked like he was Toni’s age and he seemed passably sad. She decided to take it easy on him. She gave him vodka in cranberry juice, she wasn’t about to hand this kid a whiskey at midnight on Sunday. Besides, this dude simply seemed like he needed to talk to someone.

He accepted the drink and drank a little before putting his head in his hands and sighed.

“Rough night?” The teenager looked up in surprise as if he wasn’t expecting her to talk.

“You could say that.”

“You know, people like to confess things to bartenders, we’re like therapist but a lot less expensive. Also they’re all way too drunk to remember the things they said.” Toni replied, smiling gently.

The boy smiled a little, “I bet.”

“Well, if you need any help, I’m right there.”   
With that, she turned around to continue her cleaning. Her shift had ended 3 minutes ago but she didn’t have the heart to tell him to go home. She was supposed to close down the bar tonight, so FP would never know. She cleaned and he drank in a comfortable silence for a while, the only noise being the music playing in the background.

“I love this song.” The male voice said, making Toni turn around, “My girlfriend showed it to me.” Then he whispered to himself, “Of course, it’s playing right now.”

“Girl problems?”

The stranger nodded and hesitated a little before speaking, “I’m not sure you’d understand.”

“Try me.”

“It’s just that my whole life, people have been telling me how to feel and what to do. And I used to think I wanted that too, but now I’m not so sure.”   
He stopped but Toni stayed silent, knowing he wasn’t done.   
“There’s all these boxes that people expect you to conform to and this pressure from everyone that wants you to be this and that and I don’t know if I can truly be those things. What if I can’t be those things?”

There’s a moment of silence before the Serpent answered.

“It sounds to me like you don’t know what you want yet, but you have to figure it out. And you will, no matter how long it takes. But you’ll never be able to really do what you want when you change the way you are to please people.”

“But I used to be happy being the kid that everyone wanted me to be.”

“People change, people grow.”

“I don’t want to disappoint.”   
The teenager looked so broken and Toni could feel her heart break in two.

“People will always be disappointed, no matter what you do. The only person you can’t afford to disappoint is yourself, because at the end you’re the only one who’s going to live your life.”

The boy didn’t answer for a moment and nodded. He took the last sip of his drink and smiled a little.   
“Thanks. I now understand what you meant by being a low priced therapist.”

Toni chuckled and the boy cracked a real smile for the first time this evening. Seeing it was now quarter past midnight, the small girl closed up everything and walked over to the door with the boy. The latter left first and as Toni was about to get on her motorcycle, he spoke up.

“I’m Archie, by the way.”

“Toni.” He nodded and Toni watched as he drove away.

———

The first morning was rough but she put on a brave face. Putting on her Serpents jacket, she made her way over to Fangs’ house.

She knocked on the door and her friend came out, looking very tired.

“Ready?” She asked, he groaned in response.

They picked up Sweet Pea on the way and before they knew it they were entering Riverdale High School. Between Fangs and Sweet Pea, Toni felt everyone looking at them. Not fazed at all, she was almost smirking when she got to the table where a girl about their age started talking about where to find their lockers, she was finishing up when a voice interrupted her.

A girl made her way down the stairs slowly, a couple of cheerleaders behind her and a boy next to her. Instantly, Toni’s face hardened and she clenched her jaw. The girl was walking towards them in a menacing way but the Serpent wasn’t scared in the slightest.

“Cheryl, no one invited fascist barbie to the party.” The girl who helped them said.

“Wrong, Veronica. No one invited Southside scum to our school.” The way she spat the word ‘scum’ made Toni clench her hands into fists.

She continued talking but Toni was only seeing red. This high pristine white girl was everything that Toni hated about the Northside and she wasn’t about to let her talk to them that way.

“Why don’t you come over here and say that to my face?” She threatened.

“Happily, queen of the buskers.” Cheryl answered automatically.

A boy stepped in between them and instantly she recognized his voice. She broke eye contact with the ginger and looked up, to her surprised she saw Archie, the guy from the bar, standing next to her.

He looked at her, worried that she might say something and Toni scoffed, of course, another Northsider full of shit. Before Sweet Pea started a fight right there and now, the principal broke them all up. Toni was about to talk to Archie when Cheryl took him by the arm and dragged him along with her. She had a fake smile on her face and he looked annoyed but Toni wasn’t about to go after him after that shitshow. She sighed and made her way to class.

This was going to be a long day.

———

She was about to make her way to the Serpent’s table at lunch when a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and her reflex instantly kicked in, pushing the body to the wall with force. She stopped once she realised it was Archie. He looked terrorized and she released him gently.

“Remind me to never touch you again.” He smiled and she chuckled.

“Sorry, it’s just a reflex now.”

“Noted. Anyways I wanted to officially welcome you to Riverdale High.” He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling.

“Thanks. It’s not like that first welcome was very… welcoming.”

“Yeah, Cheryl is kind of like the bad guy around here, I wouldn’t cross her if I were you.”

“I’m not scared of her.” The small girl crossed her arms.

“Oh yeah, after what you just did to me, she should be scared of you.” The redhead chuckled and so did Toni. “We’re not all like Cheryl. Most of us are glad to have new people here.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that but thanks for saying it.” She smiled. She was sure after everything Archie would ignore her at school, not wanting to be associated with a Southsider. Maybe she was wrong.

A voice interrupted them from a table close to them, “Archiekins!” The girl that greeted them initially that day made a movement to tell him to come over and he nodded.

“Well, I gotta go sit with my girlfriend. See you around?”

“Sure, see you later Archie.”

As he made her way to his girlfriend, she ignored the way a blonde girl sitting next to him watched her and sat down next to Fangs.

“Why were you talking to a Northsider?” Sweet Pea spat and she shrugged.

“They’re not all that bad.”

“Yes, they are. Did you see how they treated us? Careful Topaz, or you’ll turn into them.”

“I’m not going to, okay? It was just a conversation.”   
She snapped, signaling the end of this conversation.

Lunch went by quickly and her next class was English and unfortunately she was stuck in the same class as Cheryl Blossom. When she entered she received a death glare from the particular red head but once the class had started, she hadn’t looked at Toni once, too lost in her own world.

The Serpent was barely listening to what the teacher was saying, too busy looking at the “Queen of Riverdale High”. Toni couldn’t help but notice that she was beautiful, probably the prettiest girl she had ever seen. Her hair falling perfectly on her shoulders and a bright red lipstick that showed off her full lips. Though, the Serpent could tell that she was upset. She wasn’t sporting her usual smirk or fake smile, she was doodling on her notebook and it almost looked like she was about to cry. All that tough exterior was definitely used to hide a lot of pain and Toni felt the sudden urge to help the girl, even though she had been mean to her. After all, Toni knew a thing or two about sadness.

After being kicked out by her family for being bisexual and living on the streets, Toni had felt hopeless and completely broken. She can’t even begin to imagine what would’ve happened if she hadn’t join the Southside Serpents. They were her real family now and she was so grateful. Nevertheless, Toni had always felt that hole in her heart, like something was missing. She was still sad most of the time, but she pushed through it and fought it because that’s how she’d grown up.

———

School had ended without any other altercations between Cheryl and the Serpents and Toni was glad. She was just surprised the day ended with Sweet Pea beating the shit out of a Northsider. She had just entered her trailer when she received a text.

[???]  
Toni?

[Toni]  
Yeah? Who’s this?

[???]  
This is Archie, I got your number from Jughead. Hope it’s ok

[Toni]  
Oh that’s fine

[Archie]  
Cool. Listen, I was wondering if we could hang out tonight

If you’re free, of course

And if you want, I guess

[Toni]  
Sure, that’d be nice

[Archie]  
Perfect. Meet me at Pop’s at 5 :)

 

Toni closed her phone with a small smile. Archie was nice and maybe Riverdale High wouldn’t be so bad after all. That is, if you forgot Cheryl Blossom existed. Though, she was kind of hard to ignore.

Her train of thought was interrupted when her door opened and Fangs and Sweet Pea entered still talking.

“... I don’t see any other way.” Sweet Pea finished and sat down on Toni’s couch.

She rolled her eyes, “Ever heard of knocking?”

“Yeah, but you’d let us in anyway so that just saves time.” Fangs smirked.

“Idiots. What did you mean ‘I don’t see any other way’? What are you planning?”

“This douche called Reggie Mantle keeps provoking me on purpose so that I get in trouble and this fucking school treats us Southsiders like shit, thinking their precious rich assholes are so innocent.” The taller one said, clearly angry.

“So you’re gonna beat the shit out of him?” Toni raised an eyebrow.

“So I’m gonna beat the shit out of him.”

“It’s the first day and you’re already planning a fight.”

“We have to make sure they understand what we’re capable of, Tiny.” Fangs shrugged.

“Fighting them will only prove their point, that we’re no good, just violent southsiders. We’re not in Southside High anymore, we have to think of other ways to defend ourselves.”

“Toni Topaz is against violence? It’s like we don’t even know you anymore. I think hanging out with that ginger has already corrupted you.” Fangs smirked.

“That’s dramatic. Anyways, I have to get going so get out.”

“Wait, where are you going?”

“None of your business, Sweets.” They sighed and walked out the door with Toni.

She could feel their eyes on her back as she got on her motorcycle and drove away. She doesn’t know why she didn’t want to tell them where she was going, and she didn’t like the thought of hiding something from the people she considered her family but she couldn’t handle another snide comment about Archie. He had been nothing but nice to her.

She was ten minutes early so when she got there, Archie wasn’t yet. She looked around for a bit and saw Cheryl at a booth completely alone. She found the booth the most far away from hers but still sat down so she was facing the ginger. Cheryl was looking out the window making circles with her straw in her strawberry milkshake. She looked like she had been crying and Toni wondered what was going on inside her mind.

The girl in question suddenly locked eyes with her. Toni froze but kept eye contact, almost challenging Cheryl to look away first but the other girl was had the same idea in mind. The redhead was looking at her threateningly, a way that probably scared off the other kids but Toni was used to being threatened, and the serpent wasn’t scared anymore.

The bells chimed and Archie came through the door, he looked around to find Toni and he smiled when he saw her already sat down. He was wearing his usual football jacket and in a way, it reminded Toni of the Serpents jacket she wore everyday too. Maybe the Bulldogs and the Serpents weren’t so different after all. He walked over to her booth and Toni saw Cheryl’s confused look clearly from across the room. She raised an eyebrow curiously but when she saw the Serpent looking back, she went stoic again.

“Hey, Toni. You should’ve started without me.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind. I’ve never gone here so I don’t really know what to get.”

Archie’s eyes went wide in surprise and Toni started chuckling at his dumbfounded expression.

“You’ve— you’ve never gone to Pop’s?” He stammered.

“Yeah well, I don’t know if you forgot but I’m from the Southside, we don’t really visit the Northside unless it’s necessary.” Archie’s face suddenly looked guilty.

“I didn’t mean- Sorry, I just kind of forgot that you were Southsider.”

“Why? Cause I don’t look homeless?” Toni crossed her arms. Archie’s eyes went wide again and he scratched the back of his neck anxiously. Toni bit back a smile.

“No! I didn’t mean it like that! I don’t think the Southside are homeless at all! I just don’t know you guys at all and I’m trying to change that and you’re just so nice and— why are you smiling?”

Toni burst out laughing, seeing Archie still freaking out was hilarious. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“I’m just messing with you, Andrews. God, you should’ve seen your face.” Toni said, trying to gain composure.

Archie chuckled and sighed dramatically.

“You scared the shit out of me, I thought I had messed this up.”

“No no, don’t worry. You’re good for now.” Toni winked.

“Thank God,” he smiled, “okay so we come to Pop’s for one reason and one reason only.” He paused to create suspense and Toni grinned,   
“The milkshakes. They’re to die for.”

“You brought me all this way for milkshakes?”

“Yes I did, you’ll regret your words once you’ve tasted one, Topaz.”  
He signaled the waiter, ready to take his order and the pink haired girl raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll have one chocolate and she’ll have-“

“I’d like to try the strawberry one.”   
Toni cut him off and he raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

“Okay, one chocolate and one strawberry milkshake, please.”   
The waiter nodded and left. He turned back to her,   
“Strawberry?”

It was her turn to shrug and sneaked a look behind him where Cheryl was still sipping her own pink milkshake,   
“I like strawberries.”

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice and spoke up.

“So, um yesterday night-“

“Hey it’s fine, if you don’t want to talk about it. We can just forget it.”   
Toni cut him off, making sure he was comfortable.

“No, it’s okay, I want to talk about it.”   
Toni nodded,  
“I just wanted to thank you, I guess. You didn’t have to help me like you did and I’m just really grateful.”

The Serpent shook her head, “No problem, dude. You seemed like you needed someone and I’m glad I could help.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing. You were just a stranger but you were able to help me more than my friends could in months, I don’t think they even noticed anything was off. Even Ronnie doesn’t seem to notice anything and she’s my girlfriend.”

“She’s the one who was with you this morning, right?” He nodded, “She seems nice and I doubt she’d want to hurt you on purpose. Have you tried talking to her about it?”

He shook his head, “I just can’t get the words out everytime I try or we get interrupted or we’re in a fight. We seem to always be fighting these days. I’m just so confused and tired.”

She was about to answer when the waiter brought their drinks, she thanked him and watched carefully as Cheryl got up and left the restaurant, making sure not make eye contact with Toni. When she turned back to Archie, he was fixated on his drink.

“Are you sure you even want to be in a relationship right now? I don’t want to tell you how to live your life, but I think maybe you need some time to yourself, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know. We’re Archie and Veronica, everyone seems to act like we belong together. Maybe we do. I’m just confused for nothing right now.”

“Your emotions are important, Archie. You need to focus on what you’re feeling, not everyone else.”

He sighed and there was a moment of silence before Toni continued.

“I used to have a girlfriend that was so controlling. My friends all liked her but she used to act so different when it was just the two of us.I used to think that was love. But it’s not. I didn’t feel comfortable in that relationship, I was tired all the time and dating her felt like a chore. It took a while but I learned that my feelings were more important so I broke up with her. And I will never regret that decision.”

He looked at her curiously for a moment, “girlfriend?”

“Yeah, I’m bisexual. That’s not a problem, is it?” She crossed her arms, challenging him.

He put his hands in the air, “No, of course not. I was just surprised, I don’t care if you’re bi. Anyways, Ronnie isn’t controlling. She’s a great girlfriend, I just— I don’t know.”

“Dude all I know is that you need to stop being everyone’s hero and focus on yourself for more than two seconds.”

He nodded and they drank in a comfortable silence for a little while.

“These milkshakes are fucking amazing.”

Archie grinned, “I know, right?”

  
———

It was 8pm when she got home and Toni was feeling particularly happy. Archie was surprisingly a really great guy and the small teen was glad she had met him. After Pop’s, they had gone to the Bijou to watch a really bad movie where they made fun of the storyline the whole time and Toni didn’t remember the last time she felt so carefree. She was smiling to herself when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

[Archie]  
Get home safe?

[Toni]   
Yes, dad

[Archie]  
Excuse me for caring, Topaz

Thanks for listening to me whine again

[Toni]  
You don’t have to apologize. That’s what friends do

[Archie]  
:)

  
Her mind shot back to images of Cheryl sitting alone at Pop’s and Toni’s smile faded. She was worried about the redhead. It didn’t make sense that the supposedly popular girl was alone most of the time. That’s when Toni decided that no matter what, she was going to help her.

———

A month after, the Serpents were still being pushed around by the infamous Bulldogs and Head Bitch in Charge. But now they were fighting back. The pink haired girl couldn’t count the number of times she had an argument with Cheryl Blossom and the numbers of time she had to separate Sweet Pea from a fight.

At least, she had Archie. The boy turned out to be a really good friend who was really fun to hang out with and he tried really hard to be some kind of mediator between the two rivals. He was failing but at least he was trying.

Tuesday morning, Toni woke up in a hurry. She was terribly late, having gone to sleep way too late hanging out at Archie’s place last night and sleeping through her alarm in the morning.

By the time, she got to school she had already missed first period and barely made it to second. She let herself fall on a random chair without looking up to whom she was near. She sighed with relief sinking into the chair, finally catching her breath.

“Second day of the week and you’re already late. How Southside of you.” She heard the voice next her say.

She turned around, glaring. Without surprise Cheryl was looking at her unimpressed.

“Second period and you’re already bitching. How Northside of you.”

“Oh that’s right, you’re new so you don’t know. Hi. I’m Cheryl Blossom A.K.A Cheryl Bombshell. I own this school so you don’t get to talk to me that way. Feel free to tremble.”   
Without waiting for Toni’s reaction, she turned back to the teacher. The Serpent rolled her eyes and then started to pay attention.

Between third and fourth period, Fangs and Sweet Pea found her at her locker.

“Where were you this morning?”

“I was late, my stupid alarm didn’t wake me up.”

“And where were you yesterday night?” The taller Serpent asked.

“What is this? A fucking interrogation? Back off guys, I’m not a child you need to babysit.” Toni scoffed.

“We’re just worried about you, Topaz. You’ve been in your head a lot since we got to this school and you keep hanging out with this ginger dude, we’ve barely seen each other. Where does he even come from?”

“It’s been a month! I’m still a Serpent, okay? You guys are my family I won’t forget that.”

Fangs exhaled, “Okay, okay. Sorry Tiny. We’ll back off. Right, Sweets?”

The boy in question mumbled something under his breath so Fangs hit his shoulder.

“Yeah, sure. We’ll back off.” He reluctantly replied.

“Good. Alright losers, I have to go to my next class, do you trust me enough or you want to walk me over there?” She smirked.

Sweet Pea ruffled her hair and hugged her by the side, “I guess we can let you go.”

“Thanks, dad.” She began to walk away when Fangs shouted through the hallway.

“WE MISS YOU ALREADY!”

She looked back to see the two of them, laughing loudly and she rolled her eyes.

“I don’t know who those people are!”

When she entered the class, she saw Archie already talking to the guy sitting next to him. He smiled when he saw Toni enter and waved.  
  
“Toni, hey! We’re in the same class.”

“Seems like we are.” She replied, smiling. The guy he was talking to scoffed and almost made a move to leave but Archie grabbed him by the wrist.

“Toni, I’d like you to meet Reggie Mantle. Reggie, Toni.”

“Hey.” Toni said but the guy wouldn’t meet her eyes, she turned curiously to Archie who rolled his eyes.

“Come on, Reg. She’s not who you think she is.”

Reggie sighed, “Hey.”

“There you go.” Archie smiled and the bell rang so they sat down, Toni sitting in front of Archie. Behind her she heard the ginger whisper, “Don’t be an ignorant asshole, you’re better than that.”

Toni smiled but it quickly dropped down when the guy answered, “She’s Southside.”

“And you’re Northside. Now that we’re done listing facts, can you please try to cooperate? She’s really cool.”

“I guess, I can try.” Reggie grumbled.

“That’s all I ever asked.” Toni could hear the smile in Archie’s voice and she turned around to smile at him. He made a peace sign with his hand and stuck his tongue out. She chuckled, mouthing “dork” and turned back to the board.

  
She suddenly looked over to the hallway, where Cheryl was walking quickly and Toni straightened in her chair. She heard Archie behind her ask if she’s okay but she ignored him, instead asking the teacher if she could go to the bathroom. Seeing the urgency on the girl’s face, he nodded and she practically ran out.

She found the nearest bathroom and even from the outside, she could hear the redheads soft cries. She opened the door silently. Instantly, the noise stopped.

“Cheryl?” She tried, softly.

“I don’t know who you are but you need to leave.”

“Cheryl, please. I just want to help you.”

A sniffle and a beat of silence, the stall opened slowly but when Cheryl saw who it was, she quickly grabbed to close it again. Toni kept it open.

Cheryl sighed while coming out of the stall, “My God, what do you want? And why do you keep stalking me?”

“I’m not. I was just going to the bathroom when I saw you come in first.”

The redhead didn’t answer, only wiped a tear that was slowly rolling down her face.

“Are you okay?” The Serpent tried again.

“I’m crying in the bathroom alone and I haven’t been able to stay at my house for the past week to get away from my mom. Who’s turned it into her own sexual playpen. So no, I’m not okay. I’m really not.”

It took Toni a moment to register what Cheryl had just said. Sexual playpen? What? Seeing that the ginger clearly needed a distraction, she didn’t hesitate before speaking.

“Well… I was planning on ditching the rest of this class, anyways. I may enjoy some company, wanna join me?”

For the first time ever, Cheryl smiled gently and nodded at Toni. Instantly, the Serpent felt warm inside and she smiled back. She decided then that if she had one purpose in life, it was making Cheryl Blossom smile.

Soon enough, they found themselves at a park near the school. They were sitting under the same tree, close so that Toni could still feel Cheryl’s radiating warmth but not close enough to touch.

There was a moment of silence where they both took in the fresh air before the Serpent tackled the issue.

“You might think you’ve mastered the art of fake smiling but I see right through you, Cheryl Bombshell.”

And then, the redhead did something that surprised the both of them; she confessed everything. Toni felt her heart break as Cheryl told her about her awful mother and Heather and how broken she is. There wasn’t enough words to describe how wonderful Cheryl was in her eyes, if only she saw it too.

“You’re not loveless, you’re not deviant.” She took the ginger’s hand into her own. “You are sensational.”

They looked at each other for a long moment. She could see Cheryl trying to figure out if she was telling the truth, so used to being lied to. Annoyingly they were interrupted by Toni’s phone ringing, surprising the two of them.

“Hey Fangs.”

“Did you ditch without us? That’s cold, Tiny. Cold.” In the background, she could hear Sweet Pea yelling “Yeah, screw you Topaz!”

“I needed a break from you two.” Toni smiled.

“Whatever. Come on it’s lunch.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.”

She turned back to Cheryl who was texting someone on her phone.

“Well we should go back.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Toni hesitated a little before opening her mouth, “I can give you my number if you want. Text me anytime, I’m always here.”

Cheryl nodded shyly and Toni released a breath she didn’t know she was holding and entered her number into the others phone. The walk back was quiet but comfortable. Every once in a while, Cheryl would brush her hand over Toni’s mindlessly. She felt her breath catch in her throat each time.

When they entered the school, they ran into Jughead and Betty who eyed them curiously and Toni felt Cheryl put some distance between them. She turned to meet the redhead’s eyes but they were stuck on the floor like it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. When she looked over to the couple who were now walking down the hallway away from them, she saw Betty clenching her fists and Jughead arguing with her, looking rather annoyed. He turned for one last look but broke eye contact as soon as he saw the small girl already glaring.

Without speaking, they walked to the cafeteria, parting ways to their own separate tables.

“Were you with Cheryl Blossom?” A fellow Serpent asked and Toni almost choked.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because we just saw you enter the cafeteria next to her.” He replied

She hesitated, “Just a coincidence, I guess.”   
He seemed to buy it and continued eating. Toni couldn’t help but feel guilty for lying to her family like this. It’s like she wanted to keep Cheryl to herself, like they were the only two people in their own little world. Besides, everyone still thought she was only a massive bitch but Toni knew the real Cheryl and that made her feel warm inside.

———

Toni was about to leave the school when she heard shouting in the hallway. Curious, she followed the noise and found a crowd all looking at something in the middle. She made her way between the people and she found the answer to her question. There in the middle was Sweet Pea and Reggie. They were looking at each other furiously and walking in circles. It was just a matter of time before one threw the first punch.

“Sweet Pea!” Toni’s yell was muffled by the sound of everyone exclaiming when Reggie punched the Serpent in his jaw. The taller guy rubbed his face angrily and hit the football player right in the nose. Blood was spewing out of his nose but Reggie didn’t look fazed.

That’s when Toni decided she had enough, unfortunately she intervened at the wrong moment because one second, she was standing between them shouting ‘stop’ and the next she was on the ground seeing nothing but darkness.

She woke up in pain, resting in a bed softer than her own. She tried to open her eyes but the light blinded her, making her snap them closed again. Her head hurt and she felt like she was about to throw up. Slowly, she started to hear voices surrounding her. Two voices to be precise, one male and one female. A hand was caressing her hair carefully. Not strong enough to open her eyes, she twitched her hand to let the people with her know she was awake. Instantly the voices stopped.

“Toni?” The female voice said, it sounded oddly familiar but the Serpent couldn’t pinpoint who it was exactly.

“Mhm.” Was all that she could get out, she tried to move again but her head was pounding.

“I’m gonna get her a glass of water.” The male voice said. She listened until she couldn't hear his steps anymore.

“TT, it’s just you and I now. Can you try moving your hand?” The soft voice said and an even softer hand traced her arm lightly. It tickled Toni and for a moment, the pink haired girl wondered if this was heaven, then she remembered her headache and she decided that yeah, it probably wasn’t.

She did want to see who this angel tending to her was though. Her voice sounded like music to Toni’s ear, a song she didn’t want to end. She forced herself to open one eye, the light blinding her yet she kept it open. All she could see was a fierce redhead, the rest of her world spinning. Toni squinted her eyes, trying to make everything stop. Her eyes finally focused and the Serpent’s heart skipped a beat when she was met with worried brown eyes.

“Hey.” Cheryl said gently.

Toni tried to speak but her throat felt dry, she groaned painfully and Archie came in the door with a glass of water.

“She’s awake?”

Cheryl didn’t break eye contact with the girl laying next to her, “Yeah.”

“Good.” He handed her the glass of water and she took a small sip. He sat down on a chair next to the bed and Toni took the moment to look around.

The ginger must have seen her confused look because she answered Toni’s silent question, “It’s my room. I brought you here after you passed out. I hope that’s okay.”

The Serpent nodded and cleared her throat, “Wh— What happened?” She said with a hoarse voice.

Cheryl pouted but Archie spoke first, “Well you were hit pretty good. Basically when you came in the middle to stop them, Reg had already launched forward and he collided his fists into you instead of Sweet Pea. You fell down hard. Like really hard. We think you might have a concussion.”

Cheryl whispered under her breath “Asshole” and Toni smirked, pretending she didn’t hear.

“Reggie feels really bad by the way. He wanted to come but Cheryl didn’t want him to.” He side-eyed Cheryl and she rolled her eyes.

“I wasn’t about to let that douche into my house.”

“Hey, it wasn’t on purpose.”

“Still.”

“Okay…” Toni stopped their bickering before it went too far. The two redheads stopped in unison, quickly remembering she was there.

“Anyways, as I was saying,” Archie continued, “Reggie really wants to apologize so he’ll do it tomorrow or the next time he sees you, I guess. I think Sweet Pea texted you or something. And uh… yeah that’s pretty much all.”

“Great recap, thank you for that, you ghoul.” Cheryl said, sarcastically

“Hush you,” Toni said and she turned to her friend, “Thanks Andrews, it-“

They were interrupted by the front door opening downstairs and Cheryl’s eyes went wide, “Mother.” She gasped and hurried out of the room.

Toni was about to speak when the boy spoke first,   
“I really am sorry about Reggie. He can act like an asshole sometimes but it’s always to defend his or the school’s honor. Once you get to know him and he considers you a friend, he’ll protect you ‘till the end of the world. He’s just so passionate about his values and the people he loves. I guess he feels threatened by the Serpents for some reasons but that’s just his ego. I know him, he’ll let it go soon.”

Archie’s eyes we’re almost sparkling and Toni eyed him suspiciously. He seemed to come back to reality and chuckled nervously.

“Seems like this Reggie is a great dude.” Toni snickered but Archie seemed oblivious.

“He is.” He cleared his throat, “I mean, I understand that considering he just gave you a concussion, it’s hard to believe but you’ll get to know him.

“Yeah. I guess, I will.” She had barely finished her sentence before a woman entered the room. Instantly the air felt colder.

She looked at them for a long moment and turned to Cheryl. “Who is she?”

“I’m Toni Topaz, a friend of Cheryl’s. She just helped me get better after-“ She got up to the bed to go shake her hand but the woman dismissed her

“Get them out of my home. Now.” She spat and left without a second thought.

“Yikes. That woman is a nightmare.”

“Isn’t she, though?” The taller girl rolled her eyes.

That’s when she noticed that she was wearing something way too big for her. Her body was floating in a blue and orange jacket and her Serpents jacket was nowhere to be found. She looked at Archie, confused.

“Why am I wearing your football jacket ?”

“Oh, right.” He said, getting up to look for her jacket, “We all appreciate how cool you look in that ‘Serpent skin’ as you guys call it, but it didn’t look as comfortable to lay in so we took it off but we also didn’t want you to be cold so I gave you mine.”

She nodded, “Thanks, Andrews. That’s sweet.”

“Well,” Archie said, once he gave her her jacket back, “I’ll get you home, Topaz.”

“Thanks, Dad.” She sarcastically answered and he punched her lightly in the shoulder.

He eyed them for a moment and made a move to leave. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

The redhead waited until he was gone to speak, “You scared the shit out of me.” She collided in Toni’s arms.

She closed her eyes and focused on the way Cheryl was hugging her tightly and she wrapped her own arms around the other girl’s waist.

“I’m okay.”

They stayed a moment, in each other’s arms. Cheryl let go first but not before kissing her cheek. She grinned like a child at the action and squeezed her hand one last time before leaving the room.

On her way down, she passed Penelope who glared at her like she had just murdered someone and Toni looked away quickly. She might be a gang member but she was pretty sure even Sweet Pea would be terrified of Ms. Blossom.

When she got in the car, Archie immediately started laughing.

“What?” The pink haired girl said, not understand what’s happening.

After laughing for a couple more seconds, the ginger managed to catch his breath.

“I think you have a little something on your cheek.” She raised an eyebrow and looking in the mirror. She felt her entire face warm up and tried to erase Cheryl’s red mark where she had kissed her but it wouldn’t leave. She blushed hard which only made Archie laugh more.

“So,” he said once he stopped laughing,” you and Cheryl Blossom. I would’ve never guessed.”

She blushed even more, “Nothing’s happening,” she mumbled

“Yet?” He smiled that dopey smile.

“...yet.” she sighed.

“That’s my girl.” He said holding his hand up, she returned his high five with a smile.

“Just drive, you idiot.”

When they arrived to her trailer, Sweet Pea was waiting for her and stood when he saw the car pull up. He gave a small wave to Archie who waved back with a tight lipped smile.

“Thanks for the lift.”

“No problem,” he smiled, “if you need anything else, text me.”

“I will, thanks.” She said, getting out of the car. He drove away and she turned to Sweet Pea who was playing with his hands anxiously.

“Hey, Sweets.”

“How are you?”

“I’m okay. Well they think I have a concussion but I doubt it. My head hurts but it’ll go in a while.

He nodded slowly, “That’s good. You got us all really worried there, Tiny.”

“Sorry. It’s my dumbass friend who decided to get in a fight in the first place.” She smiled playfully but Sweet Pea didn’t smile back.

“Hey, he asked for it—“

Toni cut him off, “My head hurts way too much for me to pretend I care why you punched him. Can you just— I don’t know, calm down for a few days? Archie said he’s trying to calm Reggie down too. If you both get over your huge male egos, maybe we’d actually get along.”

The taller Serpent looked like he was going to argue, Toni glared at him and he surrendered, “I can try.” he mumbled.

“Alright, good. Now I’m going to sleep for a hundred years so stay or leave, I don’t care. I just need sleep.”

“I’m gonna stay. Someone better make sure you don’t die in your sleep, right?”

They both went to bed but Toni checked her phone before going to sleep. The light was kind of hurting her head but her heart skipped a beat when she saw a text from a certain person.

[???]   
Hey, it’s Cheryl. How are you feeling?

[Toni]  
Took a lot of painkillers. Hurts but I’ll survive

  
[Cheryl]  
Sorry about my mother. She’s kind of a royal pain in the ass

[Toni]  
Royalty does seem to run in the Blossom family

[Cheryl]  
You’re funny

Get some rest

I’ll see you tomorrow

[Toni]  
Goodnight Bombshell

She ignored the rest of the texts that were blowing up her phone and went to sleep.

———

She ended up missing two days of school and by the time she came back, it was Friday. Her head was still hurting but way less than before so she decided to go. The last two days were spent sleeping and texting Cheryl. Fangs and Sweet Pea would come to hang out for a few hours but after a while she’d get tired and fall asleep in the middle of a conversation.

Fangs had taken her motorcycle to keep her from riding it so she had to get a lift from Archie. Her phone buzzed with a text signaling the ginger was there. She quickly gathered her things and got in the car.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

The car ride was silent except for the music in the background and the sound of Archie subtly tapping his finger on the steering wheel to the beat. She was leaning her head on the window when she felt a text come through.

[Cheryl]  
I’ve been waiting for ten minutes, Topaz. You better have a good excuse for being late

[Toni]  
Archie was late

Is that a good excuse?

I’m innocent

[Cheryl]  
Hmm

I guess you’re off the hook

Hurry up imy

  
Toni’s heart fluttered and she grinned at her phone. Archie looked at her from the corner of his eyes and smiled.

“Texting someone?”

“Hmm.” Toni answered, not really paying attention.

“Is she a redhead by any chance?”

“Right, yeah.”

He chuckled softly, “Hey, I forgot to tell you, last night I got hit by a deer.”

“That’s nice.” The Serpent mumbled.

“Yeah, it ran me over completely it was crazy. I think it broke my hip.”

“Oh damn.”

He rolled his eyes and hit her lightly on the shoulder. “Toni!”

She looked at him, wide eyed, “What?”

“Where are you? I was talking to you.” He pouted playfully.

She blushed, “Sorry, I was just texting… someone.”

“Right. It wouldn’t be Cheryl Blossom by any chance, yeah?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The pink haired girl retorted and he snorted.

“Sure, right. You know you can tell me if you have a crush on—“

“How’s Reggie?” She cut him off with a smirk and watched as his cheeks went almost as red as his hair.

“He’s good,” he muttered and then they were at school.

Archie barely had time to get out of the car before his girlfriend appeared in front of him.

“You’re almost late, Archiekins.” She made a move to kiss him but he turned his head slightly and she ended up kissing his cheek. She looked at him for a moment but he refused to make eye contact.

He cleared his throat, “Hey, have you met Toni yet?” She turned to said girl with a smile and shook her head.

“Barely. Hi, I’m Veronica, Archie’s girlfriend.”

“Toni, but you already knew that.” Toni smiled awkwardly but the brunette only smiled more.

“Yeah. Archie can’t seem to shut up about you.” The redhead blushed and stuck his tongue out when Toni mouthed “aww” in his direction.

“Anyways,” Archie said, “she”s also the one Cheryl’s been texting.”

Toni rolled her eyes and he winked but Veronica only got more excited.

“That’s you! She’s been texting so much I don’t think she could tell you a second of what happened here while you were gone she was so glued to her phone.”

The Serpent suddenly felt someone touch her shoulder and she turned around in shock. Her eyes softened immediately as she saw Cheryl.

“Hey stranger.” The redhead said, smiling.

“Hey, you. Long time no see.” Toni replied smoothly.

“Way too long. I was so bored stuck here with these hobos.”

“We’re right here.” Veronice flatly said but Cheryl ignored them, too busy staring at the small girl in front of her.

“How’s your head?”

“It’s better. Doesn’t hurt as much.”

Cheryl was about to reply when she looked behind Toni and rolled her eyes. Curiously, she turned around and was met face to face with Reggie. Cheryl opened her mouth to probably insult him but the boy stopped her before she could.

“Wait I just— I just wanted to apologize. I would have never hit you on purpose. I feel really bad.

“Sorry isn’t going to fix her head, you poor excuse for a man.” Cheryl snapped but Toni just took her hand and caressed it with her thumb.

“It’s okay. We’re all good. But you and Sweet Pea on the other hand, have to get your shit together.” Toni said bluntly. Reggie nodded.

“We already talked. We’ll try to tolerate one another.”

“Good,” she nodded.

Archie stepped between the two of them and put his hands on their shoulders.

“I’m so proud of you guys.” He pretended to shed a tear and the both of them shoved him away smiling.

“Hey,” Veronica said, bringing the attention on her, “Now that Toni is feeling better, what about a double date? Me, Archie and you two girls?”

They looked at each other for a moment and nodded.

“Sure, why not?” Toni agreed.

The brunette took Archie’s hand and grinned, “Perfect! Tonight? Pop’s at 6?

“Sounds good.”

“Thanks for the invite guys.” Reggie sarcastically said and Archie laughed at the joke maybe a little too much.

“Sorry, gollum. Did you want to fifth wheel our double date?” Cheryl answered as sarcastically as Reggie.

“Of course I want to! See you guys at 6!” And with that he left, Archie and Veronica following closely.

Slowly, they made their way into the school as well. The redhead was fidgeting with her hands and hesitated a little before talking, “Was kinda hoping my first date with you wouldn’t be with them.

“Our first date?” Toni raised an eyebrow.

Cheryl suddenly looked embarrassed, “Well, I was— I was just saying—“ Toni cut her off with a chuckle.

“Hey, no that’s not what I meant. You are cute though.” She took a pause and Cheryl ducked her face down. “I meant that we already had our first date. At the park, remember? Also our second date was when you brought me to your house after I got hurt. And for the past two days, we’ve had an ongoing date every time we texted so that counts as a date and a half in my opinion.”

Cheryl opened and closed her mouth a couple of times and Toni felt proud when she realized she must have been one of the few people to ever leave Cheryl Bombshell speechless.

The bell rang before they could say anything else, she squeezed the ginger’s arm and walked over to the class she shared with Sweet Pea and Fangs. As soon as she walked in, they practically jumped on her.

“I had to learn from Kevin that you were back. Why didn’t you, I don’t know, text us that you were coming back?” Fangs said.

“Sorry guys, I was busy.” She said casually, walking between the two of them to get to her desk and they both raised an eyebrow.

“Busy?”

“Yeah. I was talking to Cheryl and—“ she stopped when she saw Sweet Pea let out an exasperated sigh. “You got something to say about her?”

“Yeah, actually, I do.” He started and Toni clenched her jaw, “You can do better than her, Topaz. From what I’ve heard, she’s a crazy bi—“ he stopped abruptly when Toni made a menacing step towards him.

“I’m gonna need you to rethink that sentence before finishing it, Sweet Pea.” She turned to Fangs and he hold his hands up like he’s innocent. “You have no idea what she’s been through.” She paused, remembering the talk they had at the park. “She’s not some loveless monster, she’s… sensational.” She finished slowly and both boys shared a look.

“You got it bad, Tiny.” Fangs said. That earned a punch from Toni.

“Ow! What’d you do that for?”

Sweet Pea pretended to crack a whip, making a sound to match.

“I am not whipped.” The smaller Serpent said, yet the smile on her face contradicted that statement.

Sweet Pea crossed his arms and scoffed but the two others ignored him.

———

Archie was picking all of them up, so at quarter to six, he was knocking on Toni’s trailer for her to come out. She had decided on something fancy but not too fancy. Casual fancy. She grabbed her Serpents Jacket and a bouquet of roses and came out. Archie checked her out.  
“You look hot.” He said and she winked.

“Try to keep your hands to yourself, Andrews.” He hold his hands up and she chuckled.

She got in the backseat behind Archie and Veronica turned to her smiling.

“You ready?”

“Hell yeah.”

Cheryl’s house was ten minutes away from Toni’s trailer so she spent that time attempting to calm down and get rid of her sweaty palms. She might have told the redhead that it wasn’t their first date but it didn’t erase the fact that it was way more official than the others and Toni was a nervous wreck. When they got there, Archie made a move to get out of the car but the Serpent put her hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll do it.” She slowly got out, ignoring the snicker from Archie and felt her heart beating hard as she went up the stairs. She exhaled and hold her fist up, holding the roses with the other behind her back, but she hesitated before knocking. “Come on, Toni. You’re in a freaking gang but you can’t knock on a door? What is this? Just knock, damnit.” And that’s what she did. She waited a few seconds before an elegant woman opened the door.

“Hey Ms. Blossom. We met the other day, I’m—“

“Cheryl! The criminal is here.” She shouted and left without giving the girl a second look. Toni wondered for a moment if she had to enter or just stay there but her questioning stopped when her favourite girl walked down the stairs.

Toni felt like this was a movie, where everything becomes slow-motion and it’s just the two of them that exist, everything else disappears. She watched as Cheryl went down the stairs in awe. She was wearing a simple red dress but she looked more gorgeous than ever, not that Toni ever thought Cheryl didn’t look gorgeous. Her mouth opened and was looking at the redhead from head to toe. She was pulled out from her thoughts when Cheryl cleared her throat.

“Careful, darling, you’re drooling.”

“You look beautiful.” Toni said so sincerely that Cheryl ducked her head down and slightly blushed.

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” She said, smiling.

Toni suddenly remembered the flowers and gave them to her with a grin and Cheryl gasped.

“For me?” She said, almost dramatically.

“Flowers for my lady.” Toni attempted a british lady but failed miserably and they both chuckled. She gave her elbow to Cheryl and the latter took it, “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

She opened the door of Archie’s car for Cheryl and finally sat down next to her.

“Alright guys let’s go!” Veronica almost shouted excitedly and Archie let out a whoop. Toni repeated after him. The Cheryl from before might have insulted the three of them without mercy but instead, she just turned to Toni and smiled.

They arrived at Pop’s shortly after and luckily found a free booth at the back of the restaurant. Near the window was Cheryl facing Veronica and next to them were Toni and Archie. The conversation was surprisingly going very well and breezy but the Serpent couldn’t help but notice that Archie was slightly off, everytime Veronica would make a move to hold his hand or kiss his cheek, he’d always find a way to dodge it subtlety. Toni raised an eyebrow but didn’t mention anything, she’d talk to her friend later.

Her side of the table was doing great, though. Things with Cheryl were natural, they didn’t have to try too hard. Their thighs were touching lightly and their arms would brush against each other once in a while, making the Serpent smile every time. They held hands but had to stop when the food they ordered came in. Toni had ordered a simple cheeseburger with fries and Cheryl a salad yet the ginger didn’t hesitate to steal Toni’s fries.

“What do you think you’re doing, Bombshell?” She asked after the third fry.

Cheryl smirked and put it in her mouth slowly and Toni watched the way she licked her lips afterwards and suddenly felt the urge to kiss her, “Stealing your fries?” she said innocently.

“If you wanted fries, you could’ve gotten fries. These are my fries.” She said, feigning anger and moving the plate farther from the redhead.

“Darling.”

“Mhm?” Toni said, taking a bite of her burger.

“Can I have some fries?” Cheryl batted her eyelashes.

“Yeah, sure.” The pink haired girl said and led it directly into her mouth.

Archie faked a cough, “Whipped.” he said and Toni kicked him on the shin.

“Shut it, Andrews.”

“What’s up, guys?” A voice called out and they all turned to see Reggie Mantle walking over to their booth.

Archie immediately straightened up and directed a smile at him.

“Hey! What are you doing here?”

“Well you guys invited me to your date and I couldn’t not accept so here I am.” Reggie winked at Archie, sitting down next to Toni to face him. Toni had to squeeze against Cheryl to make room for the Bulldog, resulting in her practically sitting on her date’s lap.

“I was being sarcastic, you blockhead. Did you hit your head so hard playing your little football games that you forgot how to use common sense?” Cheryl said, visibly annoyed.

Toni took this moment to look at everyone’s face and she saw Veronica looking out the window, clearly angry with her jaw clenched, Cheryl looked annoyed but when Toni turned to her, her gaze softened and she took her hand into hers. Archie was… strangely looking at Reggie in awe. He had a loving expression on his face and he was nodding and laughing along to whatever Reggie was saying. His focus stayed on the brunette boy, not taking note of anything but him. The Bulldog seemed comfortable, as if he hadn’t just disrupted a date he was clearly not a part of. He had settled in and was already launched into a stupid story that was only fun for Archie and him. The two guys were in their own little world and Toni couldn’t help but feel confused. She definitely needed to talk to Archie later.

The rest of the dinner went uneventfully, except for the awkward fact that Veronica didn’t speak for the rest of the meal and Archie probably didn’t even notice since he was too busy talking with Reggie.

“Well, once again thanks for inviting me to your amazing date and thanks, Andrews for the burger.” The tall football player said once they got out of the restaurant.

“No problem, Reg.” Archie said and they hugged each other sideways before the brunette left.

“Yo, Arch. Wanna hang back at my place?” Toni asked after they dropped Veronica off. The latter had left without saying a word, thus creating an awkward moment that the Serpent was trying to dissolve.

“Sure.”

Cheryl looked at her curiously, Toni shook her head and mouthed “I’ll tell you later.”

When they got to Cheryl’s house, Toni gave her a kiss on the corner of her mouth and smiled.

“I’ll call you.”

“You better.” The redhead smiled and entered her house.

The ride back to Toni’s trailer was silent. Archie was tapping his fingers nervously on the steering wheel and the Serpent trying to figure out how to bring the subject up without having him freak.

“So what do you wanna do?” The redhead said once they entered her home.

“I was hoping I could talk to you about something.”

“Sure, what’s up?” He made himself comfortable on the couch, almost laying down completely.

“I know we haven’t been friends for too long and I don’t want to pry but I can’t help but think of what you told me the first night we met at the bar and…” she paused and he was playing with his hands like they were the most interesting in the world, “are you really happy with Veronica?”

Silence.

“I just want what’s best for you and you don’t seem that happy with her but if I’m wrong just tell me and I’ll back off.”

He hesitated, “I— I used to think I was. Now I’m not so sure anymore.”

Toni didn’t say anything, just waited for him to continue.

“We’ve been fighting a lot, almost everyday we have a different fight and it’s always about something so stupid and I— I want to love her but I can’t. And now that I think about it, I’m not even sure I ever loved her. It’s just that everyone told me I did and I guess I believed them.”

Toni nodded and placed a hand on his arm. He looked at her and she could see how broken he was. His eyes were glistening, like he was about to cry.

“How—“ His voice cracked and he took a deep breath. “How did you know you were… bi?”

“Oh, Archie…” she said and hugged him. She felt the boy shaking and she rubbed her hand in his back. “It doesn’t matter what everyone else is telling you. I think you and Veronica both know that this isn’t working out anymore. You need to listen to your heart, Archie and I think you already know what it wants.”

He looked at her wide eyed and she chuckled softly.

“Dude, you were all gooey eye on him, it was the gayest thing I’ve ever seen.”

He didn’t say anything for a while and Toni was afraid it might have been too soon for a joke but he finally chuckled.

“Shut up, you’re one to talk.”  
They smiled at each other though his face became serious again.

“Do you think other people noticed?”

“Nah, don’t worry.”

He nodded and there was a comfortable silence.

“I have to break up with Ronnie.”

“The longer you wait, the more it’ll hurt for the both of you.”

He took a moment to think, “Thanks, Toni. For everything. You’re so wise you remind me of my grandma.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Uh..thanks?”

———

Archie ended up sleeping over because by the time they stopped talking it was way too late for him to drive back. He insisted on sleeping on the couch so she woke up in her bed the next morning. It was only 9am on the weekend so when she looked over to the couch, she left the Bulldog sleeping soundly. Her phone buzzed, signaling a new text.

[Cheryl]  
You said you’d call :(

“Shit” Toni whispered and dialed the redhead’s number right away.

“Did you just answer a text by calling? Do you even understand technology?” Cheryl said as soon as she picked up.

“The endgame of this conversation would have been me calling you anyway.” Toni retorted.

“Still.”

She rolled her eyes, “Good morning Cheryl.”

“Good morning TT.”

“Sorry I didn’t call you last night, Archie ended up sleeping over.”

“I didn’t know you guys were such good friends.” Toni could hear the confusion in her voice.

“Yeah, we met at the Whyte Wyrm the day before I started at Riverdale High.”

“He was at your bar? Why?”

“Well it’s the same reason why I needed to talk to him last night.” She hesitated, she didn’t know how much to tell Cheryl, she didn’t want to out him.

“Is it about his colossal gay crush on Reggie Mantle?” Cheryl said, voice completely neutral like she hadn’t said something so controversial. When Toni didn’t answer for a while, the Vixen talked again, “Was I not supposed to know? He’s not very subtle. Especially after last night. I’ve never seen anyone dodge so many touches from Veronica Lodge, that girl can get whoever she wants at the click of her fingers. Hell, she could get me.”

“First of all, should I be worried about this sudden crazy crush you have on Veronica?”

Cheryl chuckled and the sound made Toni’s stomach flip, “Of course not sweetie.”

“Good.” She smiled even though Cheryl couldn’t see her, “As of Archie’s problem, yeah that’s what we talked about. Poor guy, figuring out your sexuality is hard and he wants to be liked by anyone so badly so he’s just shoving all those feelings down which is only making things harder.”

“Tell me about it. I think the other moron is into him too.. He was talking to only him the entire time yesterday. I wonder what they see in each other.”

Toni snorted, “Be nice you. But yeah, probably.”

“As long as they don’t try to beat us as Riverdale new power couple. They’ll lose anyways but I don’t want to see them try.”

Toni’s heart missed a beat when she heard Cheryl call them a couple and even though the redhead probably didn’t even realize she said it, Toni decided right there and now she wanted Cheryl as her official girlfriend but she sure as hell wasn’t about to do it on the phone.

“I’m coming over.” She got out of her bed and before Cheryl could even say “what” she hung up. She got dressed quickly and wrote a note to Archie in case he woke up before she was back. She made a quick trip to Fangs’ trailer to take back her motorcycle and she rode over to the ginger’s house.

She wasn’t wearing her helmet and she was driving way over the limit but she didn’t care. She liked Cheryl so much. She liked the way she was so vulnerable with her feelings when she was with Toni, she liked the way she took care of the Serpent and always made sure she was touching her in some way, whether it was their arms or their legs. She liked the way she could be so hostile to someone but turn soft as soon as she was with Toni. She liked Cheryl so much and she could see herself falling for the Vixen quickly.

She finally got to Cheryl’s home with her heart beating fast and adrenaline pumping in her veins. Her phone buzzed in her back pocket and she saw 7 new texts from the redhead.

[Cheryl]  
???????what

You’re coming over now??

But it’s 9am and I’m still in bed

I’m not getting up for you

Why aren’t you answering me Toni Topaz

Are you seriously on your way

Wow

[Toni]  
:)

I’m here

[Cheryl]  
I-

The spare key is under the mat I’m not getting up

[Toni]  
Lazy

[Cheryl]  
Sorry I wasn’t planning on having visitors at 9 in the MORNING

  
Toni chuckled and opened the door, making her way to Cheryl’s room. She walked up the stairs two by two, excited to see her favorite redhead again. No offence to Archie. She opened her door carefully and poked her head in, Cheryl’s back was facing away from the door and she hadn’t seem to notice Toni was already there since she was on her phone. The Serpent grinned and tiptoed to the ginger’s bed quietly. She suddenly jumped on her while yelling and Cheryl yelped so high it almost hurt her ears. When she realized what was happening, she pushed off a laughing Toni off her and put her hand on her heart.

“Toni, oh my God I could’ve died.” She said, trying to calm herself down.

The pink haired girl was still laughing uncontrollably and managed to say “You should’ve seen your face!”

“I hate you so much.” She pouted and layed back down, facing away from Toni.

The Serpent laughed and climbed on top of Cheryl, she was straddling her hips and leaned down to kiss her cheeks multiple times.

“You ” Kiss. “really” Kiss. “don’t.” Kiss.

Cheryl tried to get away and smiled.

“Yeah,” she said, breathless, “I really don’t”

They looked at each other for a moment, their faces so close she could feel Cheryl’s breath on her face. The redhead looked at Toni’s mouth and then the latter couldn’t handle it anymore, she closed the distance between them and captured Cheryl’s lips with her own. The kiss was slow and full of emotions. Cheryl’s skilled lips moved against Toni’s perfectly like they were made for each other. The Vixen’s hands moved to put them around the Serpent’s hips, bringing her closer to close any distance between them. The world had completely stopped, it was just the two of them now and Toni could have spent the rest of her life kissing Cheryl Blossom. Her lips were smooth and soft and Toni felt like she was in heaven. When the need for air become too important, she pulled away slowly not missing the way the redhead tried to follow her lips, not wanting to end the kiss so soon.

When she opened her eyes, Cheryl was already looking softly at her. Her eyes were dark and her pupils were dilated. She seemed in awe. Toni’s heart was beating quickly and she couldn’t believe what just happened.

“Woah.” Was all she managed to say and Cheryl grinned.

“I know.”

“We gotta do this more often.” Toni said, still feeling like she was floating.

“Definitely.” Cheryl said pulling her in for another kiss.

Yeah. She could definitely do this for the rest of her life. If Toni were to die, she hoped it would because she forgot to breathe after kissing Cheryl for too long. The Serpent never believed in soulmates but the way the Vixen’s mouth felt on hers? That made her question whether they were real after all.

She slowly pulled away once again and Cheryl sighed.

“Why do you keep doing this?”

“Sorry,” Toni chuckled, “it’s just that I have something to ask you.”

She wasn’t scared to ask the question, she was just excited, happy, content. All the positive emotions in the world, she was feeling them.

Cheryl raised an eyebrow and Toni took a deep breath.

“Will you, Cheryl Bombshell, do me the honor of being my girlfriend?” She said dramatically and Cheryl smiled.

“Yes. I will be your girlfriend.” She answered and they both grinned. Toni’s heart was beating quickly from happiness.

“You know what I want to do right now?”

“What would that be?”

“I’d really like to make out with my girlfriend.”

“I think she’d very much like that.” Cheryl barely had time to finish her sentence before Toni had leaned in once again.

After making out some more, it was now 11 am and they were watching a weird reality show that Toni didn’t really understand but her girlfriend seemed to enjoy it so she let it go. Her girlfriend, that sounded like velvet to Toni’s ear, she loved it so much. She wasn’t really watching, instead focusing on Cheryl’s side profile. Everything about her was beautiful. Her hair always flawlessly fell on her shoulders, the way it was right now exposed her bare neck that Toni just wanted to kiss and bite until she found the the ginger’s sweet spot and she couldn’t think straight anymore. Pun intended.

Her impure thoughts were unfortunately interrupted by a new text.

[Archie]  
So you really left me alone for Cheryl wow

What kinda friend are u

[Toni]  
:)

Sorry i wanted to hang out with my girlfriend andrews

[Archie]  
????????

Girlfriend???

Congrats topaz im happy for u

[Toni]  
Thanks dude :)

[Archie]  
Speaking of girlfriends…

Im omw to ronnie’s right now

[Toni]  
Ouch

I’m here for you

You can do it

[Archie]  
Thanks

Im so fucking nervous

Im here wish me luck

[Toni]  
Good luck

 

She exhaled anxiously and Cheryl turned to her worried.

“You okay?”

“Archie’s about to break off with Veronica.”

“It’ll be rough but it’s for the best, they aren’t happy together.” Cheryl said softly, caressing Toni’s arm.

She sighed, “Yeah I just hope it’ll be okay.”

Fifteen minutes later, she received a call from Archie.

“Hey Arch, you’re on speaker phone with Cheryl and I. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I guess. I haven’t really processed the fact that we aren’t together anymore. If that makes sense?” He sounded exhausted.

“You guys were together for a long time, that’s normal.” Toni reassured him.

“How did she take it?” Cheryl chimed in.

“Better than I expected. She saw it coming and she wasn't happy anymore so it really is for the best. We both cried a little but I think we just need some time alone before we can be friends again. I really don’t want to lose her.” His voice was shaking a little bit, probably remembering how the conversation went.

“It’ll be okay, Archie. You guys left on good terms and she’s not mad. I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to be friends.”

“Yeah. Thanks Toni.” The boy sounded relieved and Cheryl looked softly at Toni and kissed her cheek lightly before leaving to grab something in the kitchen.

Toni watched her leave and then remembered Archie was there, “Did you… come out to her?”

“Actually, yeah.” He paused, “she asked if it was because of someone else and I said that—“ his voice was shaking, “I said that I think I’m… bisexual and I was kind of into Reggie.”

Toni smiled at hearing Archie calling himself bisexual, it was a big first step and she was proud of him.

“What did she say?”

“She actually said she was bi too? Which really surprised me but hey, that’s really cool. And she said she knew about Reggie so there’s that.”

“We’re surprised that Veronica is bi now?” Cheryl said coming back, “I thought that was common knowledge.”

“Why do you suddenly know everything?”

“Her first instinct at the cheerleaders’ tryouts was to kiss Betty Cooper, sweetie. No straight girls do that.”

“Okay…” Archie interrupted, “she finished by saying she hopes it all works out with him and me, she was crying a bit but she was also smiling.”

“Dude, honestly you just had the best breakup in human history.” Toni said and he chuckled on the other side of the line.

“Yeah, sounds like it.”

“You know what to do now, Elmo.” Cheryl said. “Gotta make that boy love you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to spend quality time with my girlfriend and not stay here all day helping your simple ass date another idiot that probably already likes you. Bye now!”

“Wait—“ Archie didn’t have time to finish before the Vixen hung up.

Cheryl turned to her with a smile and even though she had basically hung up on her best friend, her mind couldn’t stop repeating her saying girlfriend and damn, that sounded good. She returned the smile and that’s when she remembered something.

“Fuck!” She said, instantly getting up and starting to pick up her things.

“What’s going on?” Cheryl said, confused.

“I was supposed to meet with Fangs before lunch. Shit.”

“Just call him and cancel.”

“No, I’ve barely seen him since we transferred, I feel bad.” She made her way to the door and kissed Cheryl deeply. The latter made a move to stop Toni from leaving but the Serpent got out of her grasp. “I’m really sorry. I’ll call you. Bye.” She said with a last kiss.

She felt bad leaving her girlfriend but she was already late to Fangs’ and she had been a bad friend lately, barely spending time with him and Sweet Pea. She quickly made her way to the guy’s trailer and knocked.

He opened the door with a disappointed look.

“Look who finally decided to show up.” His arms were crossed and he looked annoyed.

“I’m so sorry, I completely forgot and I know that’s not an excuse but I really am sorry.” Toni pleaded.

The thing with Fangs is that he was a damn good friend and he forgave people too easily. Almost too easily. So he quickly dropped the tough act and smiled.

“It’s okay. You’re here now.”

She shook her head, “It’s not, let me make it up to you. We can go to lunch, my treat.”

“Well, I’m not going to say no to a free meal.”

They ended up eating at Pop’s because Toni was now officially addicted to their milkshakes and she wanted to show them to Fangs. They talked about what was going on in their lives since it’s been a while since they had a good catching up. The boy told her all about this guy he’s been seeing, Kevin, and after she congratulated him, she told him about Cheryl. At first he almost didn’t believe her but when he saw she was serious, he smiled and told her he was happy for her. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him but now they were back together and she was glad.

“Sweet Pea won’t be glad about you dating the Queen B.” Fangs said after a while.

“Sweet Pea will have to get used to it because she‘s the best thing in my life right now.” She fired back.

“You know he just wants what’s best for you. Once he realizes you’re happy, he’ll back off.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, “I hope so.”

———

A week later, things were going great in Toni’s life. She had a girlfriend that she liked very much and was already falling for, things with Fangs and Sweet Pea were great. She did have problems with the taller Serpent at first because of Cheryl but he quickly got over it and finally saw her girlfriend for who she is, and they ended up friends. Archie was happier since breaking up with Veronica, he seemed more free and he already had a date planned with Reggie Mantle next friday. Things were great. So great, she should’ve seen it happening.

She was walking down the hallway when Betty suddenly appeared next to her. She wrapped her elbow around Toni’s and sported an obviously fake smile.

“Uh… hi?” The pink haired girl said hesitantly.

“I thought you and I should have a little chat.”

Toni looked around to see if anyone she knew was around but the hallway was almost empty since school finished some time ago.

“So you’re dating Cheryl, right?”

“Yep.” Toni said, still not understanding what was happening.

“Okay, yeah.” The smile suddenly dropped and all that was left was a glare. “Break up with her.”

Toni raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

The blonde stopped walking and grabbed Toni’s arm strongly, “You heard me, Cheryl is my cousin and I won’t let her be with someone like you.” She practically spat the last word.

“Someone like me?”

“Yeah. A criminal who doesn’t even have a home and is in a gang. Cheryl was perfectly normal before you came around and contaminated her. Leave her alone and she’ll forget about you easily and I will find the right guy for her.”

The Serpent was seeing red and she pushed Betty on the locker, suddenly having control of the situation.

“Take it back blondie, or you’ll live to regret it.”

“You don’t scare me.” Betty said but Toni heard her voice shake.

“You should maybe rethink that because like you said, I’m in a big bad scary gang and I’m not afraid to hurt you. You come between me and Cheryl ever again and I’ll make sure you never walk again.”

She pushed the blonde a last time and began to walk away when Betty walked up to her.

“You’re disgusting. Cheryl will realize that she’s not a dyke soon and she’ll get tired and drop you.”

“I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen, hobo.” A voice called out from behind Betty and Cheryl was walking menacingly towards the blonde.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to step away from my girlfriend and leave her alone before I make your life a living hell. If I catch you doing something as little as looking at her the wrong way I will make sure this town knows all your dirty little secrets, Betty Cooper. And for someone who looks as two dimensional as you, you’ve got a lot of them.” She was face to face with her and if looks could kill, she’d already be dead. Cheryl was glaring at her and she heard Betty gulp nervously. “Now back off, filthy cousin.”

She pushed her lightly and took Toni’s hand, dragging her away from Betty.

“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” Toni said, once they were finally out of the building.

The only answer she received was a wink which only made Toni even more turned on.

———

The end of the week passed by quickly and Toni and Cheryl were hanging out at Toni’s place. They were laying on the bed, face to face with their legs intertwined, lazily kissing every now and then. A bad movie was playing in the background on Cheryl’s laptop but none of them were watching.

“Hey, do you remember the first time we met?” Cheryl said, almost whispering.

“Of course I do. It was at the race.” Toni said, smiling at the memory. “I remember being mad at a certain someone for stealing my job but I couldn’t help but think she was the hottest person I’ve ever seen.”

Cheryl laughed and the sound made Toni’s heart flipped. God, she’d never get used to it.

“You weren’t subtle, I think the whole neighborhood saw you checking me out.”

“Can you blame me?” She smirked.

The Vixen was about to speak when the Serpent’s ringtone interrupted them. She saw who it was and raised an eyebrow.

“Calling on the first date? Not a good sign.” She said before picking up. “Hey, everything okay?”

No answer. She could hear muffled chatter but Archie wasn’t saying anything.

“Archie? Hello?”

Cheryl looked at her curiously and Toni shrugged. She put on speaker phone to show what was happening, as soon as she put it on, Archie’s laughter erupted through the speaker.

“I think the hothead just buttdialed you.” The ginger said after a while. The sound became clearer and she could hear the whole conversation now.

“Archie must have taken the phone out of his pocket.” Toni observed.

The two boys laughed again, clearly oblivious of the couple listening in on them.

“You know, Reg,” Archie started, sounding more serious, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you’d say yes.”

“You kidding me? I thought you’d never ask. I was about to give up on flirting with you.”

“Wait, you were flirting with me?” Archie said confused and Toni had to stifled a laugh.

“Have been for the past year but thanks for noticing.” The Serpent was full on laughing hysterically by now and Cheryl was gently chuckling next to her.

“I— I had no idea.”

Reggie laughed, “Yeah, I got that. You’re lucky you are this cute.”

She didn’t hear anything from Archie’s part and assumed he was blushing. She smiled, imagining them at a booth in Pop’s holding hands and maybe even sharing a milkshake.

“I just didn’t really get the impression that you were… you know, into guys” Archie said, hesitating.

“Well,” Reggie sighed, “my parents were never really into this whole LGBT thing. They made it clear very early on that they wouldn’t accept this kinda thing and they tried to force it onto me but I never understood what the big deal was, you know? People like other people and I’ve never had a problem with having a crush on a girl or a boy.”

“Right. So you’re bisexual or…?” Archie said after a moment.

“I don’t really like labels so I don’t know. All I know is that right now, I like you. A lot.”

Toni squealed so loud she was afraid they might have heard but they showed no signs of that and they continued talking.

“He’s so sweet with him. I’ve never seen Reggie talk like that.” Toni whispered to the girl laying next to her.

Cheryl shrugged, “They’ve been friends since forever. Archie’s the only one I’ve seen not get scared of Reggie, but to think about it, he had no reason to since Reggie has always been different when he was with him. Kinder, softer.”

“Kind of like you.” Toni said nudging her girlfriend’s shoulder. “You’re sweet with me.”

“Yeah,” Cheryl said, looking at Toni like she put all the stars in the sky, “Kind of like me.”

They smiled gently at each other and almost forgot about Archie and Reggie when they heard some shouting.

“What the fuck, Jughead?” Archie shouted.

Instantly, a bad feeling settled in Toni’s stomach and she listened anxiously.  
  
“Not you too, Andrews! You’re not a homo too, right?”

“What the fuck is your problem, Jones?” Reggie said, angrily.

“First Cheryl and now you two? This town is slowly turning into hell.” Jughead said angrily and Toni clenched her fists. Cheryl was listening carefully and looking into the distance.

Archie’s voice was steady, “Listen to me, Jughead. You’re going to leave right now and leave us alone. This is none of your business.”

“No you listen to me!” Jughead retorted, “You made it my business when you decided that you could have your disgusting date here where normal people are trying to eat.”

Toni saw tears glistening in Cheryl’s eyes so she made a move to hang up but the latter stopped her and continued to listen, still not looking at her.

“You’re going to regret that.” Reggie said angrily.

“Oh, what are you going to do? Punch m—“ He was cut off by probably the Bulldog punching him because everyone started shouting all at once and the two girls couldn’t understand anything anymore.

Toni hung up, not being able to handle it anymore. She took Cheryl into her arms and noticed she was shaking.

“It’s going to be okay, babe.” Toni said softly, trying to reassure her and caressing her hair. A couple minutes later, she was interrupted by a new text.

  
[Archie]  
Why does it say I called u?”

Doesnt matter for now

Me and reg are coming over rn

[Toni]  
are u ok?

  
Archie didn’t reply so Toni assumed he was already on his way. She turned to Cheryl who had calmed down.

“What if it’s always like that?” Cheryl spoke first.

“It won’t be.” Toni replied immediately.

“You don’t know that. Betty and Jughead attacked you and them in the same week. Reggie said his parents are homophobic and so is my mother. We’ll never get accepted.”

“Yes, we will.” The pink haired girl out her hand on Cheryl’s cheek, “Because we’re stronger than them and the stronger we are together, the more scared they’ll be and they’ll crawl back into their lonely ignorant holes.”

Cheryl didn’t say anything, just kissed Toni deeply, almost desperately. The Serpent kissed back, trying to convey all her feelings for Cheryl in the kiss. They separated and Toni held Cheryl in her arms until she heard a knock.

Archie entered, not waiting for the door to open and Reggie followed him. His nose was bleeding and he was holding his hand.

“Is everything okay?” Toni got up immediately, rushing to them.

“Reg broke his hand punching Jughead but we don’t think his nose is broken, just hurt pretty badly.”

Cheryl came with tissues and gave them to Reggie who nodded thanks.

“I’m so sorry that homophobic asshole ruined your first date. I’ll get Sweet Pea to kick his ass.”

Reggie spoke up, “He didn’t ruin it. Even with a broken hand,” He turned to Archie and smiled a little bit, “it was probably my favorite date ever.”

Archie ducked his head down and smiled. Toni turned to Cheryl with a grin and the redhead looked back and returned the smile.

“Do you have some ice?” Reggie looked over at Toni and she nodded. Archie was right about Reggie, he’s a good guy, he’s just very protective.

She went to grab some ice and when she came back, they were all sat down, waiting for her to join them to explain what happened. There was limited seating so Archie was sitting down on Reggie’s lap, the latter’s arms wrapped around his waist and the redhead was icing his sore hand. Toni sat down next to Cheryl, who had saved some space for her.

“So I’m guessing you heard the first part.” Archie said with a small smile and Toni tugged at the sleeve of her jacket, blushing.

“Yeah, you buttdialed me and I couldn’t not listen.” The Serpent smiled. “We didn’t hear that much, though. Just five minutes.”

The boy smiled playfully, “It’s okay.” He turned to Reggie, who didn’t really look like he was comfortable, twitching in his seat, “You okay?”

“How… how much did you hear?” He said, looking like he was embarrassed.

“We heard what you said about your parents,” Cheryl said in a tone that surprised everyone, it was gentle and Toni was used to only hearing it when Cheryl was with her, “you know, I can completely understand what you’re going through, so if you ever need to vent to someone who understands… I’m here.”

Toni smiled at her girlfriend. This is the girl that had been called loveless and a monster, she still couldn’t believe it. She had never met someone so caring and kind. She suddenly understood how much Cheryl and Reggie are alike. Both called monsters, yet they’d do everything they could to protect the ones they cherish. They both come from such hateful families but they have bigger hearts than most.

Reggie seemed taken back but nodded and Archie kissed him on his cheek. He tried to hide but Toni noticed the blush that covered the taller guy’s cheeks.

“So,” Cheryl straightened up in her seat, “what happened next?”

“Well, Jughead was yelling all those things and things got completely out of control, he wouldn’t stop and he smashed our milkshakes on the floor. So Reggie—“

“Punched the shit out of him because that’s what he fucking deserves.” The Bulldog snapped, cutting Archie off. He looked at him and winced, “Sorry, go on.”

“Right, so Reggie punched him a couple of times and ended up breaking his hand as you do,” Archie said, rolling his eyes playfully and Reggie flicked him on the shoulder, “and as soon as Reg wasn’t looking, Jughead punched him right in the nose.”

“But he’s weak and I think it hurt him more than me.” Reggie said, proudly but only Archie laughed.

“Right, that’s not what you were saying when you were about to cry earlier.” Toni snorted and Cheryl stifled a laugh.

“Why would you say that in front of them.” Reggie whispered even though they could all hear it and everyone chuckled.

“Anyways,” Toni interrupted, “that asshole got what he deserved and if he hasn’t learned his lesson by now, I know a few people who can help.” She said, cracking her knuckles menacingly.

“Thanks, Toni.” Archie said, thankful.

“Yeah, while we’re talking about this,” Reggie looked at Archie for a reassurance and the ginger nodded, “I just wanted to apologize about the way I treated the Serpents at first. I was ignorant and full of myself and that wasn’t okay. You guys aren’t what I thought you were. Archie told me about how you helped him with his problems when even I didn’t so thank you.” When he finished, Archie squeezed his hand and looked at him lovingly.

“All is forgiven. The past is in the past. I’m just glad I got to help Arch and make this happen.” She gestured over to them and she smiled. Cheryl took her hand into hers and brought it to her mouth to kiss it.

A thought popped in Toni’s head after a comfortable silence.

“Hey Reggie, can you come with me a sec?” He raised an eyebrow but nodded. He dropped a quick kiss on Archie’s temple and followed her outside.

“So,” she started off with a smile, “it’s my duty as Archie’s best friend to make sure you don’t fuck up.”

Reggie laughed as if it as a joke, “Right, lay it on me.”

“Oh, I’m not kidding, Mantle.” She took a menacing step towards him and even though he’s way taller than her, he took a step back. “You hurt Archie, I’m gonna make sure you truly know what pain feels like. I’m gonna hurt you until you plead me to stop but I won’t. I’ve never seen him this happy and if you fuck it up I swear to god, I will hunt you down.”

He nodded abruptly and she smiled again.

“For real, I’m very happy for you both, you make a great couple.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously.

“I’ve never been this happy too, you know. He…” He paused, staring off in the distance, “makes me happy. He’s just great and I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

“I’m really glad to hear that.” Toni answered, genuinely. “Let’s go back inside.”

As soon as they entered, Reggie walked passed Toni and went straight to Archie.

“What did you guys talk—“ His sentence was cut short when the Bulldog put his lips on his and put his hands on the boy’s cheeks. The ginger immediately responding and putting his hands on his waist. Toni exclaimed happily and Cheryl clapped slowly. The kiss was passionate and borderline PG-13 where at one point, the two girls had to look away since seeing Reggie’s tongue go in Archie’s mouth wasn’t something they wanted to see. They gave the boys some space and left to go outside.

“They look happy.” Toni stated.

“They do.” Cheryl nodded.

“Are you?” The girl took the Vixen by the waist to bring her closer

“More than ever.” Cheryl said, leaning down to kiss her girlfriend.

Okay, maybe transferring to Riverdale High wasn’t bullshit after all.

 

**Author's Note:**

> the end!!
> 
> thank you guys so much for reading and if u enjoyed it dont forget to leave kudos and a comment!!
> 
> my friend gave me the idea for this fic so all credits to them obviously thanks for making me fall in love with the idea of toni x archie friendship and archiereggie
> 
> im not sorry for making b*ghead homophobics i dont like them ok dont hate me
> 
> talk to me on twitter @chlobeaIe I’m lame


End file.
